So, I picked up a 1995 900SS-SP a couple of months ago. While the bike has very low miles, it had been left sitting in a shed for over 15 years and the fuel had largely turned to varnish. The paint and bodywork, though, is in excellent condition with the exception of one small ding in the steel tank. I removed the fuel cap and left the tank with a paintless dent repair expert I've worked with for years. He's been unable, however, to remove the support ring in order to internally access the ding area. The tank was inverted and penetrating oil allowed to stand on the inside for over a week (penetrating oil was also sprayed around the black rubber seal surround on top) . Then, once the eight grub screws were out removal by hand was attempted followed by gently successively prying against the filler neck at 5 or 6 "clock" positions - nothing budged. He then rigged up internal jaws to a slide hammer and attempted to break the 0-ring free by impact on the base of the filler neck - again, no movement at all. I'm leery about putting more pry-force against the tank sheet metal and don't want to risk damage to the metal or the paint. If all else fails I guess I could hack-saw and break the aluminum. I'd sure appreciate any other ideas you might have. Ed
They can be an absolute pain to remove and especially If its been sat that long, they usually rust around the edge of the ring over time. If you do destroy it, which may be your only option, I may have a spare.
Thank you for the reply - I was kind of afraid of that. Its got to beat damaging the tank, though. If I can't find a replacement state-side I'll definitely get in touch. Thanks, again. Ed
Have you tried heating the tank? At the same time, try cooling the aluminium with an ice pack, for example, perhaps even get some penetrating fluid into the joint between the two for a day or so beforehand, then try the slide hammer again
Thanks for that suggestion - I'd considered heat but don't have any way to evenly heat the entire tank. I wondered, though, if packing the ring area with dry ice (CO2) with the tank at room temperature would net enough shrinkage to make a difference. You'd think you could pick up .005" or so on the aluminum/steel but I wonder that there would be any effect on the o-ring. Seems like it would be worth a try. Thanks, again.
I'll contact the dent guy and see if he can do it - otherwise, I'll pick it up next week (an hour's drive away) and see if any of the local grocery stores sell the dry ice.
A couple of hot water bottles full of boiling water on the tank near the opening for 5 minutes and a bag of ice cubes on the cap is all you need
It must be particularly bad as I always find removing the seized grub screws the hardest part. I also use a nice weighty slide hammer and let the tank suspend on it in free air. Tricky to do but seems to aid the shocking effect plus gravity. I can appreciate you probably wouldn’t want to do this if preserving paint as if successful, the tank would have to end up on the grass or appropriate cushions.
I haven't heard back from the dent repair guy to see if he'd had a chance to try the ice or is ready to give up. I did find a relatively inexpensive ring so I'll have a replacement should I have to destroy the original. I'll try your suggestions once I get the tank back should he not have any luck. Can't help but think the old gasoline varnish, on top of corrosion, sure isn't making things any easier.
Well, I picked up the tank from the dent repair guy and, today, hack-sawed and broke out the ring in four separate pieces. It was apparent that there was no way any single-piece removal was going to work. The entire interior surfaces of the tank were coated with material resembling thick, cured shellac. Anyway, back to the dent repair guy! Thanks to all for your suggestions.
I'm sure that the company that originally supplied them are still operating in East London and still have them. It's these guys... https://www.newton-equipment.com/aero-filler-cap-range.html
